Thoughts
by sukoshimisu
Summary: Two people. Two hearts. Same thoughts.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Prince of Tennis isn't mine. It belongs to Konomi Takeshi

* * *

Narita Airport, Japan 4:47 pm

No one saw it coming; they all found it hard to believe that the prince of tennis himself would ever come back to Japan.

He, was also surprised with the sudden turn of events. After 15 years abroad he never thought that he'd ever go back.

It started out one fine day at a friendly match with Kevin Smith.

Kevin wanted to introduce him to his new girl friend, he didn't feel like meeting his friend's new squeeze so he couldn't stop himself from voicing out his frustrations, which soon led to a long and annoying discussion that had; "Have you even gone through puberty?!" and "No No No! That was your excuse when we were seventeen! Don't tell me you don't have time, you have all the time in the world!" but ended with "Oh Echizen will you ever get a girlfriend?"

From that day on he started to recall his days in Japan;

His thoughts drifted from Seishun Gakuen and the Seigaku tennis team to a certain auburn haired girl with pigtails.

Ryuzaki Sakuno, the coach's granddaughter, the only girl he seemed to tolerate when he was in the first year of middle school, the name resonated in his mind as he recalled the forgotten memories.

He remembered the bentos she would make for him, the way she stutters when she talks, her wobbly hips and knees too bent, then, he realized Kevin was right, now that he was an accomplished tennis player and he's already proved to the world that he is the best, he can have time for other things.

Even his father, the great Samurai Nanjiroh, who took the whole tennis world by storm, suddenly retired besides the fact that he was the greatest during his time fell in love with his mother and had him; he figured that he too should be able to find love and settle down.

After much deliberation and to his coach's dismay, he decided to go back and see what he's been missing. He wondered what she would look like and how would she react when she saw him again after all these years? What if she was in a relationship or worse-married?

As he stepped out of the airport, the signature Fila cap sitting atop his head covering his eyes from the bright rays of the sun, with a single thought in mind he strode into the busy streets of Tokyo.

_"Ryuzaki Sakuno, you'll be mine very soon."_

* * *

A/N: Hi there! I'm new here. Go easy on me (hehe) Please Read and Review. Thanks for stopping by!

If you find something wrong with this story please Tell me ASAP. Thanks again!


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Prince of Tennis isn't mine, It belongs to Konomi Takeshi

"Achoo!"

Ryuzaki Sakuno, a beautiful girl with long auburn tresses pulled into two pigtails, exclaimed as she opened the gas and set the kettle onto the stove.

It was a fine Saturday afternoon she was relaxing after a long day of doing chores and running errands for her loving (yet strict) grandmother, Sumire Ryuzaki. Through the years the ex-coach of the Seigaku tennis club has grown old which meant that Sakuno had to take care of her twice as much as she did before.

_"Hmm. I've been sneezing a lot recently, I wonder why."_She thought. It was true, over the past few days she had been doing a great deal of sneezing even though she felt fine.

She pondered on what could cause these sneeze fits, then she remembered her friend tomo-chan say; "If you sneeze a lot with no particular reason, someone might be thinking of you." If that was true then Ryoma-kun would be sneezing for the past, fifteen years!

_"Ah Ryoma-kun, I wonder how you're doing. Are you thinking of me as much as I have been thinking of you?"_

A small giggle escaped her lips.

She knew that Echizen Ryoma, the world renowned prince of tennis, would be busy with other things. After all, who wouldn't be if you were the greatest tennis player to date? She also knew (from personal account) that the dense tennis prince would never think about girls, much as even spare them a glance.

Memories came flooding into her mind, how long has it been? She asked herself, how long has it been since she last saw him? She remembered the bentos she would make for him, they way she would cheer for him, the tennis lessons and his words; "hair too long, wobbly hips, knees too bent, and the jumping-onto-the-court-because-of-the-bruise-in-his-eye incident. She blushed at the last one.

For the last fifteen years, she had been with no other man, waiting for the day her tennis prince would come back for her and finally realize that she was the only one for him. Though there had been a few rumors about Ryoma with various girls over the years, she still hoped (and prayed) that her prince didn't forget her.

She started imagining her life if they'd ever got together, just like before, she would cook for him and cheer for him and support him every day. If they were to have a family and travel the world in order to support Ryoma's tennis career. If they would grow old together, sitting on the porch and watching their grandchildren play in the yard.

"Peeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee ep!" (A/N: I do not know how to write the sound for a kettle. Sorry), went the kettle in the kitchen that startled her from her reverie.

_"Goodness, I've been thinking a lot lately."_She thought to herself as she stood up from the couch and trotted to the kitchen.

Little did she know that someone else was doing the exact same thing. And he was much closer than she knew.


	3. Chapter 3

Prince of Tennis isn't mine. It belongs to Konomi Takeshi.

* * *

Four hours after he arrived, Ryoma found himself wandering around his old neighborhood. Strolling down familiar streets, he started reminiscing about his days walking to and from school with the girl he's been thinking about for the past few weeks.

He smiled to himself as he recounted an instance one afternoon. As he was coming out of the shop where he claimed his new Seigaku regular's jacket, he saw her looking at her shoes while she walked. She stopped; she looked at him with wide eyes which soon shifted to the bag he was holding.

_"Wow Ryoma-kun, you have your regular's jacket, Congratulations on becoming a regular!"  
_

"_Hn"_

"_Would you try it on?"_

"_You're gonna see me wear it tomorrow."_

"_Oh, right."_

Looking at her expression, he started to regret the words he had said, he took out the jacket from the bag then put it on. Seeing the delight and surprise in her eyes made his heart swell. They walked together in silence but the girl's clumsiness kicked in, her braids got caught on a shrub as they were walking through the park, she tripped which led for him to see her panties.

"_She was always clumsy."_ He blushed as his reverie ended then proceeded to walk down the lighted pathway.

* * *

"_My, my, it's getting late, grandma where are you?"_ Sakuno thought. The phone suddenly rang.

"Sakuno I'm not going to be able to come home. I'm staying over at a friends' house. Take care of yourself ok?"

"Ok grandma, see you tomorrow."

She sighed to herself as she put the phone down; she caught a glimpse of the photos on the wall. One particular photo was that of the old Seigaku team. Her eyes drifted to the face of the boy she was thinking about earlier. The picture was the first group photo the team took when Ryoma had become a regular.

Her thoughts shifted to one faithful afternoon where the said boy showed her, in his own little way, kindness.

She saw him come out of the store where he got his new regular's jacket, despite her shyness she couldn't stop herself from saying how much she wanted to him wear it.

"_Wow Ryoma-kun, you have your regular's jacket, Congratulations on becoming a regular!"  
_

"_Hn"_

"_Would you try it on?"_

"_You're gonna see me wear it tomorrow."_

"_Oh, right."_

She was hurt, to be honest, but she couldn't help but scold herself because she thought that that would happen. But her mood soon changed when he had surprised her by taking the jacket out of the bag then put it on. She gave him her most sincere smile then they walked together in silence. They decided to take the short cut through the park, along the way, her braids got caught on a shrub then she tripped.

"_Mou, why was I so clumsy?"_ she said as she heard a knock on the door putting a stop to all her musings.

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Sorry if there are grammatical errors.  
please read and review! :)


	4. Chapter 4

Prince of Tennis isn't mine. It belongs to Konomi Takeshi

* * *

15 years.

After fifteen long years Ryoma Echizen, the world renowned prince of tennis, found himself staring at a familiar beige door at an all too familiar residence.

It was hard to believe that he went through all this trouble after a simple tennis match, the simple tennis match that started it all. The same tennis match that had him thinking about a certain brown-eyed brunette. The brown-eyed brunette he'd left behind all those years ago, the one he "tried" to teach tennis but failed because he said she had wobbly hips, knees too bent and hair too long.

The girl that was now a woman, a woman, he believed, that that had somehow snuck her way into his mind and refused to leave until he decided that she was same one he needed and possibly-loved.

Getting back from his train of thought, he mustered enough courage to raise his hand and knock on the door.

* * *

Sakuno Ryuzaki, just got off the phone with her grandmother. She had just been thinking about a certain boy with cat-like hazel eyes. The boy who'd been gone for fifteen years, the one she'd been thinking about the past few days, the same one who loved grape ponta and napping on the rooftop of their middle school, the cocky tennis prince.

The boy that was now a man, the man who was too busy with tennis to even look at girls, the same one that had captured her heart all those years ago and still had a firm grasp on it 'till today.

She walked towards the door and got ready to greet the guest with a warm and gentle smile.

* * *

He saw the smile on her face soon faded and was replaced with a look of surprise. He allowed a small smile.

"_She's obviously surprised to see me." _

His eyes traveled through her face and the length of her frame. He noticed the absence of a ring on her finger.

"Good _no ring, she's not married- Yet." _

He also noted that she was the same girl he knew fifteen years ago the only difference was that the girl he knew now had the beauty and body of a woman.

"_She's so beautiful." _

After taking his fill he stopped to look at her eyes.

She was surprised,

"_Am I dreaming? Is this really Ryoma-kun?"_

She thought to herself. She observed the smile that was etched on his face. Her eyes drifted from his face to his well-built body, she noticed that she didn't have a ring either.

"_He's not in a serious relationship yet, at least I hope he isn't." _

The boy he loved all those years ago was still the same boy but now that boy was a man. A man that had such handsome features and a body a woman could only dream of.

"_He's still soooo handsome.",_

She let her eyes roam a little a little more but finally stopping at his eyes.

To them it seemed like an eternity as they stared into each other eyes, eyes that were showing all the feelings and thoughts they kept bottled up inside after fifteen years. They didn't need words; all they needed was **thoughts**.

* * *

Seemed pretty weak but I wanted to end it the same way it started.

Through THOUGHTS :)

i'm thinking of adding an epilogue too.

Please read and review. Thank you!


	5. Chapter 5

Prince of Tennis isn't mine, It belongs to Konomi Takeshi

* * *

"_Woah"_

"_Oh my"_

They stared at each other, surprise etched on each of their faces. After a few minutes it was Ryoma who decided to break the ice.

"Hey" he started

"Ryoma-kun is it really you? I think I might be going crazy" she breathed. "I think I've been thinking about you too much and now I'm imagining you standing right in front of me."

"Well Ryuzaki I might have been doing the same thing because I think I'm imagining that I flew all the way to Japan and now staring you right in the face."

Her mouth slowly formed an 'O' as he smirked.

"So my imaginary Ryuzaki, care to let me in?"

* * *

"I still can't believe you're here Ryoma-kun!" Sakuno Ryuzaki exclaimed as they got settled on her couch.

"Do you want me to go then?" he offered.

"No it's just that I've been thinking about you a lot the past few days and I couldn't help but think that you would ever come back, I still hope you would. I remembered different kinds of things, it made me feel so giddy and sad at the same time."

As she stopped her tirade she wondered when she got the courage to speak in front of him without stuttering.

"To tell you the truth I've doubted if any of this was real. After fifteen years I never thought of coming back. But a couple of weeks ago a friendly tennis match changed that. You see my friend Kevin wanted me to meet his girlfriend, I didn't want to but he insisted. We got into a very long discussion and ever since then I found you in my thoughts."

He paused, that was probably the longest thing he ever said to her.

"Wow, I guess tomo-chan was right."

"Who? Was she your friend? The one with the big mouth?"

"Ryoma-kun! Well, err yes, she was that one. Anyway, she told me that if I sneeze without any particular reason someone was probably thinking about me."

"She got that part right."

"Ryoma-kun I know this may seem awkward but with everything we discussed I can't help but ask, what are you really doing here?"

"Hn, I don't really know. I was hoping you would, but since we've been thinking about the same things for the past few weeks it's not that surprising to find out that you would."

"Please stop confusing me Ryoma-kun, I don't think I can take so much excitement in one day."

"I'm not confusing you Ryuzaki, I want to ask you what you want to do."

"That's what I was asking **YOU!"**

"Calm down Ryuzaki."

"I know I'm sorry, I just want to iron things out."

"There's only one way to settle this you know."

She could only look at him as he spoke;

"What are you thinking about?" he ended with a mischievous grin.

* * *

It's not right to say they did not need words. But it would wrong to say that they didn't need thoughts. For in those thoughts they found out what they wanted all along.

-FIN-

* * *

_that was short.  
I'm really sorry I also found  
it very "bitin" (cut short) __:(_

_but please. read and review!_


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